Madison, WI — The Wisconsin Harness Horse Association is proud to announce that a pair of Magee’s will be leading the top honors at this year’s annual awards banquet at the Jan. 25 event in Madison, WI.
Michael Magee will be honored as the 2024 Horseperson of the Year. As part of Wisconsin’s powerhouse Hall of Fame Magee family, it is only fitting that Mike receives his own award for his years of dedication to horses in his care.
Though bred into racing, Mike only started training and driving in 2007. Predominately racing only the fairs in Wisconsin, Upper Michigan, and Illinois, Mike’s overall statistics are not huge in number of starts; rather, Mike has focused on quality, not quantity. He is just shy of 50 wins each as a trainer and a driver, which is no small feat, noting that one horse at time has been his philosophy.
Mike has owned, trained, and driven Pathologist to back-to -Pacer of the Year honors fresh off his initial purchase. He continues to campaign his beloved Patrick seven years later, gamily chasing the best Wisconsin has to offer. It’s not very often that a trainer can increasingly have a horse take new race marks in their golden years, but Mike did just that, lowering Pathologist’s race mark every year for the past five years. Starting with a 2:02 win at Elkhorn in 2017 and ending with 1:54.2 at Running Aces in 2022. In 2024 under Mike’s careful eye, Pathologist took a beaten time of 1:54 at 12 years young.
Mike ventured across the border recently to Minnesota to try his hand on the pari-mutuel scene as well. Although adding to his bankroll at Running Aces, Mike has continued to come back to Wisconsin for every race meet to ensure that his roots as a horseman are not forgotten —something he takes great pride in.
Another “Magee” in nature that will be honored is the horse R Mountain Man, who will be inducted into the Wisconsin Harness Racing Hall of Fame. Have you ever had that “one-in-a-million” horse? Elwood Magee had that horse, although he didn’t start out that way. On March 3, 1987, R Mountain Man made his arrival. He was a home bred colt out by Marburg Hanover and Ponytail. He was named after Elwood and Elva Magee’s third son Randy who, at the time, lived in Colorado.
He was not an easy colt to break. He was 3-years -before he made it to his first race. In 1990 he had four starts. Two of those in Norway, MI and two in Viroqua, WI, which only amounted to one third-place finish, a lot of breaks, and $117.00. Elwood was ready to move him on, but his youngest son, Brian, convinced him to give the colt one more try.
The next year was much better for R Mountain Man. He had eight starts with six wins and two seconds. His success carried over into 1992. From ’91 to ’92 R Mountain Man had a 22-race win streak while racing the Wisconsin/Upper Michigan fair circuit, Sportsman’s Park, Balmoral, and Maywood Park. In Wisconsin, R Mountain Man earned spots as a top 10 trotter in ’91 and ’92.
R Mountain Man continued to be a force to be reckoned with on the Chicago circuit, taking his lifetime mark of 1:56.3 at the age of 7. He raced until he was 12 years old in 1999 earning $184,667.00 and finishing with an impressive record of 133 starts, 49 wins, 14 seconds, and 6 thirds.
For those wishing to attend the banquet, contact WHHA President Gabe Wand at 608-574-5468 or gabewand@yahoo.com for more information.